Exploring the collections, acquisitions, and treasures of the Forest History Society

McNary, Arizona: A town on the move

When Mrs. B-logger and I moved from Washington, DC, to Durham in 2003, we only half-jokingly said we wished we could move our friends and some of our favorite restaurants and stores with us. When the Cady Lumber Corporation decided to move in 1924 to get access to more timber, its owners did just that. It moved all of its employees. And their families—800 people in all. From Louisiana to Arizona. This was the very definition of moving lock, stock, and barrel.

At the time, moving a lumber camp was not unheard of. A logging company would put the small houses and other buildings on railroad cars and move them to the next location a few miles down the line.

Converted railcars often served as housing and offices for loggers. This one was used by the Crossett Lumber Company, Crossett, Arkansas. (FHS4448)

But in 1922, William Cady realized that his lumber and milling company had cut out nearly all the yellow pine around McNary, Louisiana. He realized that it would be cheaper to abandon the land than it would to undertake reforestation. He and his business partner James McNary had an unusual idea. They would buy an existing mill operation and relocate their employees to another region of the country. McNary and Cady wanted to keep their skilled loggers and mill labor because the owners felt they were the best at what they did.

McNary first scouted the Pacific Northwest and then Mexico. He then found the mill town of Cooley, Arizona, on the Apache Indian Reservation. He and Cady purchased the defunct Apache Lumber Company for $1.5 million in a deal that included all of Apache’s timber holdings and its milling operations in Cooley and Flagstaff. The deal had to be approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and also the U.S. Forest Service because the agency oversaw timber on the reservation and because some of the timber was coming off of the Sitgreaves National Forest. In fact, nearly all of the timber Cady contracted for was on government land, and the government would pick up the cost of fire fighting and reforestation. Cady Lumber then spent $3.5 million to install an all-electric plant with three band saws. For marketing purposes, the company received permission from the federal government to rename Cooley as McNary. With that, it was time to pack.

On February 7, 1924, the last log in the McNary, Louisiana, plant was cut. Three days later employees boarded special trains with their baggage and equipment and moved west to the new home that awaited them. They were moving from the heat and humidity of Louisiana to a town at 7,300 feet above sea level, a place where they measure annual snowfall in feet. To say that there would be some adjustment required to get used to the new surroundings was an understatement. But it wasn’t just the weather.

Of the 500 employees who moved, almost all were African American. According to the 1920 federal census, there were 8,005 African Americans in the entire state of Arizona—or 2.4% of the state’s population. James McNary recorded in his autobiography that “there was a good deal of indignation in some quarters in Arizona over the importation” of the African American employees and their families but the threatened violence never materialized.

Once operations started in Arizona, the company also employed Native Americans and old homesteading Spanish and Anglo families in the area. According to McNary, each ethnic group constituted a quarter of the work force. Though living conditions in McNary, Arizona, were better than what was found in surrounding towns, it was nonetheless a company town (the company controlled all utilities, hospital, and schools, and owned the housing and only store in town)—and one that was segregated. Each group had its own section of town, with its own school. When adjusting to the climate or life in Arizona proved difficult for some African Americans, they left, only to be replaced by others coming from Louisiana who had heard about the good jobs and a degree of racial tolerance unheard of in the Jim Crow South.

The caption read, “A typical residence street in McNary, showing roomy, comfortable homes of employees of the Cady Lumber Company.” However, African American employees lived in a separate part of town called the “Quarters.” (below)

The company store. It was the only place in town where employees could shop.

In 1935, James McNary bought out William Cady after Cady Lumber collapsed and renamed the company Southwest Lumber Mills (later it became the Southwest Forest Industries.) Over the next two decades McNary modernized logging and milling operations and built a lumbering empire that after World War II “would challenge Weyerhaeuser, Georgia Pacific and other preeminent producers on the Pacific Coast.” He also became involved in the work of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association. McNary sold his business interests in 1952 and became a man of leisure, publishing his fascinating autobiography This Is My Life in 1956 (for example, active in Republican politics on a national level, McNary was pals with Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover).

Eventually operations began shifting to the more modern Flagstaff plant. With that, the migration of workers began again. After a fire in 1979 destroyed the lumber mill in McNary, the remaining workers moved out, leaving McNary, Arizona, as deserted as its namesake in Louisiana.

Both the topic of James McNary and the towns that bear his name are ripe for research. One could look at the business, the man, or the towns— through the lenses of social, racial, and environmental histories. FHS has materials on Cady Lumber and its move from Louisiana to Arizona and life there among the big white pines. The move to Arizona and the history of the company was captured in a lengthy article in American Lumberman magazine in 1926. In addition to this article and McNary’s autobiography, we have the records of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association, which contains McNary’s correspondence from when he was its president from 1937 to 1939. The Cady Lumber Corporation materials include copies of the contracts signed by Apache Lumber in 1918 with the government and when Cady bought them out. We also have information on Southwest Forest Industries, including several annual reports and press releases from the 1980s. Secondary sources include Curtis Wienker’s article-length study of the town, “McNary: A Predominantly Black Company Town in Arizona” (Negro History Bulletin, 1974) and Arthur R. Gómez’s 2001 study “Industry and Indian Self-determination: Northern Arizona’s Apache Lumbering Empire, 1870-1970,” in Forests Under Fire: A Century of Ecosystem Mismanagement in the Southwest. The Cady operations, which at one point was the largest contract producer of timber in northern Arizona, are also discussed in a history of Region 3, Timeless Heritage. Speaking of northern Arizona, the Arizona Historical Society has some papers on Southwest Forest Industries and Northern Arizona University has images and 3 related oral histories.

The April 10, 1926, issue of “American Lumberman” magazine featured a 55-page article on the Cady Lumber Corporation operations in McNary and Flagstaff.

81 Responses

I was wondering if you ever considered changing the structure of
your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could
connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text
for only having one or 2 pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?

Shriram,
Thanks for reading the blog and for your comment about the layout. With posts like this one, which is an essay, I tend to emulate the format of our magazine Forest History Today with a single image towards the top and then more later. Other posts can be photo essays and therefore have little text. Perhaps as we consider how to update the design of our site, we’ll bring the design of the posts into the 21st century as well.

Not sure if you’ll even get this, but here goes…I am the oldest grandson of James G. McNary. I was born in McNary in 1941. Presently I live in nearby Pinetop. I want to say that you’ve done a pretty accurate history of the town which is more than I can say about some authors! If you get this, feel free to contact me. My sister, brother and two cousins in this area are also grandkids. We have lots of photos and other memorabilia of the town. Thx

In 1926 till their deaths I had an aunt & uncle who lived in McNary,Az my uncle was an employee at Cady’s Lumber Co Store. His name was Roy Hall.Roy died Dec 1928, in McNary,my aunt Josie died Feb 1929 also in McNary. From what I understand it was the flu epidemic.Was there a flu epidemic at that time?There are no death records to make of the causes of deaths.Is there anyone who can help me.Camdin. camdin.classen@gmail.com

I was born in the McNary, AZ hospital in 1965, and lived in the neighboring town of Pinetop until 1974 when the sawmill started shifting operations to Flagstaff, and my parents decided to move elsewhere. I can still remember going shopping with my mom in the old McNary general store and being treated and having a tonsillectomy at the McNary general hospital. My father and grandfather and most of their friends worked at the mill, and my aunt and mother worked at the hospital. My parents have since moved back to the White Mountains, and every year they have a McNary reunion for all of the people who used to live in that once thriving town.

My uncle, George Pynes, died in the typhoid epidemic. I think in 1929. His parents, my grandparents, were Sam and Sally Pynes. They were married in McNary, Az. in 1927 but moved to Calif. and then Oregon where they spent the rest of their lives.

My grandfather ran the McNary mill in the late 50s thru about 1967. From what I understand, the 1979 fire may have been the last straw that caused Southwest Forest Industries to give up on McNary, but the real problem was the Apaches built their own mill and diverted all the good timber to their mill, leaving the crummy stuff to SW. My understanding is that this was contrary to their contract with SW, but you can’t successfully sue an Indian Reservation, so the mill died.

I am trying to locate employee records for Southwest Forest Industries for 1962. My father worked there during 1962-1974 where he also sought work elsewhere because of changes. Does anyone know where I could get a copy of his employment there ? If so, Please reach me at mbsw57@hotmail.com

Hi Tammy – was just researching White Mountain newspapers and saw your recent request. Time flies; but this article I did and pasted from 2007 has some of the company names who might help. Laura

Southwest Forest Products in full swing
Resources turned into products

By Laura Flood
Ash Fork Correspondent

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Ed Martin of Southwest Forest Products, Inc., pictured above, said the new mill in Ash Fork represents a long term economic boon for the area.
The October rain on freshly cut pine logs, five miles west of Ash Fork, is a sweet scent for many reasons. It is the location of Southwest Forest Products Inc. (SFP), a forest products mill that opened in July. The privately owned Phoenix company has created a bright spot at 8108 W. Old Highway 66.

Ed Martin, SFP Vice President of Forestry, is in good company with many excited folks.

“The mill represents a huge sustainable resource and long term economic benefits for Ash Fork and all of western Arizona,” he said.

was born and rised in Mcnary went to school there from 1-12 and worked at the general store and mill it was a very good place to be at the time, buryed my brother and his good friend there during the vietnam war that was very tough time,but the people there were like one big family and all helped one another as best as they could. Still go by there and say hey to Erine and Juan and thank them for what they did for us all really do miss them Bobby Madrid

is Robert Madrid and bobby Madrid brothers and did one die in Vietnam and one came home to McNary? Do you recognize any of these family names. Sedillo, Castillo, Padilla, Serna Lerma? My father his brother and myself were born in McNary Arizona. the Madrid’s are related to me.

Bobby, we went to school together in McNary. I just wanted you to know that my daughter and grandsons looked up Ernie’s name on the Viet Nam memorial when they went to Washington DC for a program called closeup through the schools. His memory lives on and his service to this country will not be forgotten. McNary was a fine place to grow up. Pam (Medlin) Moya.

Very interesting! I just went to visit a friend in Scottsdale AZ and decided to go through McNary to get my picture taken with the city sign as my name is McNary and I would love to know if it is a relative that owned the mill. James McNary is a decendent but not sure if it is one in the same.

Jim, I am working on a history of the black families who worked the Cady in LA and Az along with the nearby Crowell Lbr Co in Long Leaf, LA, a few miles from McNary, LA. Could I communicate with you about photos of the mill and town?

I was born in McNary on August 21, 1947 apparantly in a one bed company hospital and I am looking forward to visiting McNary this coming September. This will be my first visit since my family moved back to Oregon in 1953.

My maternal grandfather (W. Penrod) was a native of the White Mountains, and was a conductor on the Santa Fe Railroad. My paternal grandfather came from Mississippi to work in the Mill when my dad was very young. He used to dig up the big night crawlers by the mill pond and sell them for fish bait. My mom worked in drugstore and also for Dr. Dysterheft too. They both graduated from McNairy high in 1949, where my dad played sports and my mom was a cheerleader. Hearing their stories and seeing photos of the area, it must have been an idyllic time in their lives. When my grandfather took a manager position at a Mill in Louisiana, my family relocated as well and it was shock for my mother going from a predominately Morman community to the hot, humid, Catholic and cajun french country of S. Louisiana. We visited McNairy every year and I loved going to find my grandmother working in General Store. I still have lots of relatives living in the White Mountains and I regret not visiting more often. My parents returned often for the reunion, but now they are unable to travel and I know they often think about the “good” times and the lasting friendships they made while living in McNairy.

Hello, I’m the program coordinator of a Downwinder’s program in Flagstaff. We assist Downwinders with federal compensation claims. We are currently assisting a few families who lived in McNairy during the 1950s and 1962. We are trying to locate documents that prove these families lived in McNairy. Documents could consist of employee records, telephone book records, voting records, school records and/or medical records. These documents are necessary, so they can file their claims with the federal government.

Downwinders are residents of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, who lived in the area during the 1950’s and 1962. They were exposed to the nuclear fallout from the Nevada test site. If you think you can help in these efforts, please contact me at: swilliams@northcountryhealthcare.org.

I was born in McNary, AZ in 1943 and lived there for several years before we relocated to Holbrook because my twin sister was sickly and suffered in the winters. My parents were originally from Louisiana and came to McNary in the late ’30’s because they had relatives working there who had come on the original train. My mother, Mary Lee Halliday, worked in the mill office and my father, Charles H. Jones came to work there also. They met dated and were married several years later. We lived in one of the company houses and I have pictures of winter snow all the way up to the roofs of the cars and immense icecicles hanging from the eves of the houses. I have only a few memories of these early days but we visited about every five years after we moved back to Louisiana in 1947. Five years was just enough time that we could really see the changes that were taking place in the local society. When we lived in Holbrook, my father managed a store in Overgaard. I think that it was also owned by the McNary/Cady mill.

I was born in McNary Arizona in 1958 & grew up there with the exception of one year in superior as a child. I was there when desegregation took place. my grandfather was a machine operator in the dry kiln of the lumber company, my stepfather was the local deputy sheriff. I remember the old steam engine “white mountain scenic railroad” even before that I remember the night the train station burned, we lived about 2 blocks up. I can tell you so much more. *hugs* from one of the last white girls from McNary .

I was born in McNary in 1957. My family worked for the BIA and lived in WHiteriver. Because non-native Americans could not be treated at the Indian Hospital in Whiteriver (where my mom worked), my dad had to drive my mom to McNary for me to be born when the time came. I appreciate knowing the history of McNary and where the name came form. Thank you!

My family Marvin “Red” Morrow and Zollie Morrow moved to McNary in 1940. Dad was an unloader at the mill pond and then a sawfiler at the Moulding Dept. He probably did other jobs that I don’t remember. I had a younger sister, Helen, and a brother Robert both deceased. I started the first grade with Donnie Douros and Billy Graham and we graduated from McNary High School together in 1953. McNary was a great town to be raised in, we had everything we needed and some we didn’t. Knew everyone in town. They have a McNary re-union every year around August, if you haven’t attended you are missing a great time. I left McNary in 1965 to become a Highway Patrolman and became a judge in Justice Court in Flagstaff and I still reside there. Vaines Lee “Shorty” Morrow

Shorty,
I saw your name on this website and thought I would say hello : ) If you ever want to say hello, my E-Mail is dovesinid03@gmail.com I really have missed you and have wondered many times how you were doing. Take care and I hope to hear from you!
Shelley

I am sorry it took so long to answer, I just found out today about the McNary internet.. Every is is great with me, I retired from the bench in 2000. I did have heart surgery in 2005 and had my aorta value replaced. other the that everything is great. I still live in Flagstaff. Where do you live.

V.L., I hope you might be able to suggest what avenues I need to take to find records, pictures, etc. of my family while living in McNary, AZ. Specificaly, a picture of my class at McNary School; and records of my sister’s birth at the hospital in McNary. I have another post giving more info…My father, Russell Blakeney, was a sawfiler also. Also, how would I get info on the McNary Reunion? I would appreciate any suggestions you might offer!!!!! Delores Olivia Blakeney (Stingley)

I sorry it took so long to reply. I found out today about the McNary on the internet. I remember Luther and Paul Stingley. I believe the re-union is in Aug. of this year. I don’t know how to get any records of any kind. There is still a school in McNary.

Hello my name is woodrow bosley Junior I was born in mcnary in 1949 my father was JC bosley and my mother was Irene bosley we live in the quarters by the mill I went to school there till I was in junior high I can remember summer days that we would go behind the meal to the apple trees that were behind the mill in gather apples from the trees there before we went back to school we moved away from Macnary in 1965 it was a great place to Live The place that I always wanted to go back to I have now moved to Showlow since living in California.

My family lived in McNary, AZ. two different times mainly because of good jobs at Southwest Lumber Company. My Dad, Russell Blakeney, was a sawfiler at the mill. He also worked at the movie house as as projectionist. My sister was born in McNary on September 22, 1948. I began 1st grade in the quanset hut, 2nd grade in main building, We moved back to Mississippi and I finished 2nd grade there. However, we moved back to McNary and I started and finished 3rd grade there. My teacher’s name was Mrs. McBee, I believe. I remember going to the dentist office (at school) to have my teeth cleaned. I remember the playground was covered in cinders. The 3rd graders (our class) had a picture taken. I am trying to locate one of those pictures. I don’t remember if the picture was made for the school annual or if it was just our teacher that had it made. If anyone out there has any suggestions on tracking one down, I would appreciate it. Would love to talk with others that lived in McNary from 1948-1950.

Steve,
It’s pretty much all in the woods behind the old southern Baptist Church (that has since been converted to a house) on the edge of town. We used to walk back into the woods looking at old graves. Many don’t have markers, and the pond beyond the church was beginning to get close to some really old ones.

I was born in McNary Arizona in 1960. if you are familiar with the downwinders program, you will know that there was nuclear testing just over the mountain in New Mexico in 1962 and the radiation drifter over our town and since then, a good majority of people we knew in Mcnary got cancer and died, including my dads brother and step brother. they both died this year. they did get the downwinders compensation. I was two years old in 1962 and there are no surviving records to prove that I was in Mcnary at that time. (Where else would I be at two years old). If anyone out there has any records from that time period. please share the information so we can get help with our cancer. Thank you.. I can be contacted at amlesoncarehomes@gmail.com

Michael, I too am a downwinder. I am a Leukemia survivor and have used my school transcripts as proof of residency. You can use your dad’s employment records, or voting records as long you can prove he was your dad. Since you were only two at the time of the last radiation exposure I am sure you lived with your parents.

McNary Az was a nice place to grow up I miss is it and go up to camp at Little Bear in the summer with my family and relatives.
I was born there and lived down by the sawmill where my late father worked his name is Austin Williams he pasted away Jan 2013 and my brother Robert “Robear” Williams died in McNary in 2013 also that was where Robear loved to be at.

my family moved out to mcnary in 1966 we were there for about 3 years my stepfather whos Name was John Tedder worked there ? he was born in the area he was a good man, some of my best child hood memories are right in that place called mcnary. it was safe we ran all over that neighborhood. there was a small LDS church just down the road from the eleaminary school which my family went. that’s where we went to church. my teachers name in first grade was from Shreveport La all I remember is her name was miss Jackson.

Mr & Mrs Jackson ended up being my grandparent’s neighbors up on that little street where the Russel’s & Lawrence’s lived across from the gas station. She was also my little brother’s first grade teacher.

My great grandparents lived in Glenmora Louisiana and worked for Cady Lumber company. My great grandfather Zephaniah P. Scarbrock was one of the foreman who helped moved the operation to McNary AZ. My father Joseph Aubin was born in McNary in June 1925. They moved to Flagstaff the next year. This is more information than I have ever heard about the Cady Lumber company.

Did you have a relative named Patty who married one of the Douros boys? She used to hang out with my aunt, Diana Yocom! And we lived a couple doors down, i remember my grandma and Fay having coffee. Wasn’t there a brother named Archie as well?

My name is patsy row i grew up in McNary, graduated from there,married there and in1982 moved to phoenix,i remember the madrids,sedillos,naranjos, ballejos’s married a douros first time around. divorced. My father was slim row, set up man in the moulding.Him and my mother are gone now. remember the douros’s medelins,stingleys., I remember the morrows,.I could go on and on. I remember the quaters, the indian camp, My parents always took us to Mc Coys bridgetoswim on satuday or sunday. My dad retired from SWFI. hello everyone hope to see you at the McNary reunion.

This is Fred Merrill. My family spent 6 wonderful years in McNary when my Dad was deputy sheriff. We left in 1960 when he was elected Sheriff of Apache County. I regret never keeping in touch with all of the people who became family while we were there. The Johnsons, Cooks, Penrods, Stingleys, Sidellos, Sheltons, Chaves, Dagenharts, Quicks, Estes, and many many more. I loved being there. And though it ended in the tragic death of my brother Barton; even then, when we returned from Texas (where his death occured), the entire town was there in our front yard and in the street when we arrived. I am going to make it to the reunion this summer.

Edgar Merril??? What a tiny planet! My stepdad became a deputy and worked for Edgar in the early 70’s with Kenny Douros. We moved to st johns in 1974, and i worked as a waitress at trail rider’s for Edgar, who was then retired from “sheriffing” and running the place with Mrs Merrill!

I lived in mcnary when I was 18 and my husband worked in the mill. His father worked for the Forrest service. I lived in maverick Arizona through grade school. My husband’s name is Crowther. My grandfather lived in Holbrook and retired from the railroad. I love Arizona.

My mother Bessie Jordan was one of the original members to move from Mcnary Louisiana to Mcnary Az. She was just a young girl at the time she graduated from Mcnary High school and married my father Marion Maxwell from Springerville Az. I was born in Springerville. I recently drove from southern Az. Where I now live to Springerville and we decided to go through Mc,nary. It was sad that the town no longer exists. It’s still a beautiful area up there.

My uncle, walker w. Vick kept books for the store there and his wife, Elvira or “vi” worked in the dry goods dept in the store…I would go in the summer to stay with them…their house was right next to the gas station….we loved to go to the “fountain” at the store everyday to get a sundae…we would go to eat at the hotel across the street to the west….platters of fried chicken and big bowls of mashed potatoes…their son, walker, went to school there..I don’t remember the year they left….geraldine Andrews sherrill., Gilbert, arizona

My family lived in McNary from 1953 until 1959, (3rd through 7th grades)when we moved to Whiteriver. My father Red Millet had worked briefly at the Mill but then branched out on his own and then for the White Mtn. Apache Tribe as Construction Enterprise manager, building many of the “cabins” at Hawley Lake. They moved from Whiteriver to Lakeside in 1964. My mother Suzanne worked first in the drug store in the general store in McNary then at the McNary post office until 1972. My brother Jean Pierre was a year younger than me. I am returning to the Lakeside area after having been living in Holbrook for the past 28+ years. I love running into former classmates and folks who remember my Mother and her French accent. I agree, McNary was a wonderful place to grow up in and although it has greatly changed, the town is still there. Four of my grand children attended elem. school there. My God parents were Rand and Harriet Sprankle. Some of the names I relate to in my memories are: Cox’s, Pavelins, Sedillos, Stingleys, McDaniels, Seeley’s, Clines, Duoros, Bensons, Merrills, Acevedos, Harvey’s, Madrids, Putts, Naranjos, Quicks, Dysterheft, Bacas. Going to school there was fun, we learned a lot and the whole town did things together. I remember the HIgh School Prom my 5th or 6th grade year when I was an “usher”. Adults & parents even went to the high school prom. For two summers I worked for SFI as a “helper” and it was interesting to look at some of the old documents. This was before computers and I will never forget typing “borad feet” for 8 hours a day. I went to the McNary reunion with my parents a couple of times and they so enjoyed having the opportunity to see old friends….unfortunately not many of my age were in attendance.

You might have known my aunt, Diana Yocom. She passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was the youngest, and had one brother and three sisters, all grew up in mcnary, the youngest three were born there.

Jeri, I am so sorry to hear that Diana has passed. My family lived in McNary from 1955 until fall of 1962. My father Richard Ely was a forester with the BIA and we lived just outside town at the Ranger Station. First grade in a brown house on Back Street, second grade in the Quonset hut, did not go to the main Elementary School building until fourth grade. Diana was a good friend, as well as Mary Smith, Gladys Kinney, and many others. Remember Sedillos, Madrids, the Mosses (Barbara Moss whipped me at boxing!), Naranjo, Douros, Shelton, Seeley, McCarley, Chavez, Palmer, Tortice, Crowther, Clendon, Millet, Hover, Baca, Mestas, Ulibarri, Stingley, Ward, Cox, Butler, Merrill, and others I’m sure will come to mind. My youngest sister was born in McNary Hospital in 1956. Lived back east for too long, now living near Prescott.

We are Jim and Emily (Crow) Gilbert. We lived in Whiteriver and attended high school in McNary. Jim’s graduating class was 1954 and Emily’s was 1956. After we married one of our daughters was born in the McNary hospital in 1960. The movie theater was our week-end treat all through high school and into the 60’s when we moved away from Whiteriver. We still buy fishing worms in McNary when we come up to stay at Hawley Lake.

Couldn’t help but reply to your post. I was still in elementary school, but I remember you both when you were attending McNary High School back in the 50’s. You were friends with my older sister, Merna (Wood) Lewis, and my brother, Gordon W. Wood. Unfortunately, Gordon passed away in 1992, but Merna is still with us. She resides on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation in Scottsdale, AZ. I am the youngest of the Wood Family, of which there were six. Merna, my sister Delores, and I are the only survivors right now. Although you don’t know me, I just wanted to say hi as you were people I remembered from McNary years ago.

I went to school in McNary from 1st grade through 12th. Graduated in 1967. Moved to Albuquerque in 1968. Remember some of the names mentioned I had 3 sisters and two brothers that also attended school there. The Moss family.
My cousins also named Moss also attended school there around the same time. I was known as Jr. Moss. Actual name Paul Love. Last time in McNary was 1 year ago while driving to Phoenix.

I grew up in Scottsdale, Az. But in the 1960’s we always spent 2 weeks in July camping and fishing just above Mc Coy bridge on the White River. Always was a treat to go to the old general store in McNary for supplies. Also took the White Mountain Scenic Railroad up to the log camp at Maverick. What a beautiful ride. Too bad it’s all pretty much gone now.

I was born in mcnary in 1959 and this is a awesome part of the history of the town I have often wondered how it came to be in such a beautiful place amongst the pine trees in the mountains . Thanks for taking the time to put this all together .

I graduated from Blue Ridge High School in 1973, and McNary was a great rival in basketball. They beat us two out of three meetings that year. Carl Russell was an absolute monster on the boards, he pulled down 48 rebounds in a single game against Salome, and had over 700 for the season, which I believe is still a state record. He went on to play football at ASU…

Does anyone know when McNary High School closed? I haven’t been able to find out when the final graduating class attended…

I was born in McNary as well as my father worked in the Mill for many many years. I was told that he may have retirement coming to him and we are trying to find out where I would be able to inquire about this? My name is Karen Penrod Robbins and I have lived in Pinetop my whole life, my family were most of the first family settlers here in Pinetop. If someone can help me find out who I can talk to or if someone out there is collecting from Southwest Forest Industries and can point me in the right direction I would be ever so grateful. My father is R.B. (Sonny) Penrod. you can reach me at my email address k.robbins@pinetopfire.com

My grandparents Henry and Elizabeth Hall and their three children were on that train that brought the African American families from McNary LA to McNary, AZ to work in the mill. My mother, Doris Hall was born in McNary. Two younger siblings were also born there. My family left McNary for California when my uncle was drafted into the US Army during WWII. Wilson Riles who also came to McNary Arizona from Louisiana became the first African American State Superintendent of Public Instruction in California. He taught school in McNary where my mother was a student before moving to California.

My name is Mike Sherwood, I was born in McNary. in 1959 .My aunt Gloria Sherwood was Dr, Dysterheft’s nurse at the hospital. She worked there from the mid 50’s till the hospital moved in the late 60’s. So if you were born there in those years she probably helped deliver you. She married a man named Curtis Crunk, which was a long time employee at the mill. And I to remember the 6 foot snow falls in the winter. I miss visiting there ,especially in the winter.

I have been looking for info and pictures of the old mcnary hotel, which burned down. Does anyone know what year that happened?
I left mcnary in 1974, was born there in 1958 and went to school there. My mom used to work in the cafe waitressing, and Miss Bea was the cook. Who remembers that guy, Cowboy, who lived at the hotel? He kept his horses over at the corrals at the edge of town. Who remembers Reverend Benton’s cafe in the Quarters with the best cheeseburgers in town?
Anyone wants to contact me I’m atjeri58marquez@gmail.com 😊

My Father moved to McNary in 1939, he was from Reserve, New Mexico, and as everyone else looking for work, he became one of the electricians , worked there until the War, Married Sofia Espinoza, had five children three born in McNary, Daughter of Juan Espinoza “born in Holbrook” My grandfather was the blacksmith at the mill, My Mother worked at the mill during the war as you know the women took many of the men’s jobs because of the war, when my Father returned, work again at the mill, and in 1949 moved to Belen, New Mexico followed Mr. McNary, he started New Mexico Forest Products in Albuquerque many of the men also followed, most lived in Belen because of the farming, and close to Albuquerque for the work at the mill.

Norbert Moya My Dad also worked at the mill sometime in 1947 lived there for about a year the home we lived in burned down about one or two in the morning there was a lot of snow my Dad threw my brother and I into the snow. We moved out the next day came back to Belen. PS I remember a restaurant there can’t recall the name oh it

My mother, Yvonne Ray, used to provide in-home health care for Marjory McNary Moore, who was one of James McNary’s daughters. She became good friends with her, as well as her sister (James’ older daughter), Martha. They told my mother many stories of their childhood, and about their father and mother, and they sound like wonderful people and parents. My mom really enjoyed her years with Mrs. Moore, and with Martha, and to hear all this history helps to round out some of the background. Very interesting reading.

My great-grandmother was a Cady. As a matter of fact, she was William Cady’s sister. (His middle name, Manasseh, was their father’s first name.) On one of his trips back to Louisiana, William asked my great-grandmother, Mary Cady Stutes, to let him take her grandson back west with him. She wouldn’t let him, and years later that boy would become my father.
I have seen a photograph taken in Louisiana before the move with a large white frame house in Louisiana, reputedly the home of either William Cady or Mr. McNary. The house still stands and is near the main road, just across the railroad tracks. I would be interested to know if anyone has a copy of that photograph or any other showing the house.

I used to spend summers up there with my Grandparents, Frank and Juanita Foulenfont. My grandfather worked at the mill, and had a home close to the pound. I even attended a few years of school in McNary Elementary and Blue Ridge High School. I believe my fondest memories growing up were those summers.